UPDATED: Crater High School remains closed after water main breaks

Classes are cancelled at least through Tuesday at Crater High School in Central Point, after a broken water main caused flooding in most of the school.

Updated 11:15 a.m. Classes are cancelled at least through Tuesday at Crater High School in Central Point, after a broken water main caused flooding in most of the school.

The water main likely broke either late Sunday night or early this morning, causing 2 to 3 inches of water to pool up in most of the school, Superintendent Randy Gravon said.

A custodian arriving at the school at about 5 a.m. saw water pouring out into the parking lot and discovered a completely flooded boiler room, Gravon said.

“We've had an eventful morning,” he said. “It's the results of having an old building.”

Gravon said the school was built in 1954, and the main water line has experienced leaks in the past.

“These are old systems,” Gravon said.

A crew from Servpro, a water and fire restoration company in Central Point, had most of the water inside the building pumped out by 10 a.m.

Crater is broken into three smaller schools for students, each with its own wing of classrooms and offices.

Most of the water damage was confined to the Renaissance Academy and the Crater Academy of Health and Public Services, according to Todd Bennett, principal of the Crater School of Business, Innovation and Science, the only small school that wasn't damaged.

Bennett said the boiler room was completely flooded, which might have caused permanent damage to the school's heating system.

Gravon said an insurance agent for the district was at the school this morning assessing the damages.

He said there were no estimates on the cost of damages yet.

Bennett said it was hard to tell yet if water on the tiles and carpet throughout the school caused damaged to the floor underneath.

No water damage occurred in the school gym, meaning sports practices should continue as normal and girls basketball games scheduled for Tuesday night should still happen as scheduled, Gravon said.

— Teresa Ristow

7:26 a.m. Central Point school officials announced this morning that Crater High School will be closed today because of a broken water main.